tmpollard wrote:
@vchowdhary, filters or no filters i'm ok with either one. I'll look up the lenses you mentioned and price them.

@ Krickett, I currently have a DX D5000, awaiting a D7000 replacement, I like the body size on that camera.

@Dustin, your photos are absolutely amazing. If I could ever just take one photo that looks like yours I would be on cloud 9. Will the lens you mentioned work on a DX body?

Thats too nice

It should work on a DX. The lens is from the 1980s. I saw several on the B&S forum like a month ago that were cheap ($200 or so). Oh and I dont use filters - but in case you wanted to, the thread is 67mm

Dustin Gent wrote:
It should work on a DX. The lens is from the 1980s. I saw several on the B&S forum like a month ago that were cheap ($200 or so). Oh and I dont use filters - but in case you wanted to, the thread is 67mm

A 17mm is no UWA on a DX-camera, it's equal to or 1mm less than the standard on DX. I loved, on DX, my Sigma 10-20 3.5 5.6 and now my Sigma 15-30 on FX.

If you are going to do waterfalls, filters are almost a necessity. As you have a DX camera, my suggestion is to go with the Tokina 11-16/2.8 or the Nikon 12-24/4. There is a Tamron in between that range also. I stay away from Sigma due to my previous bad experience and hence can't recommend it.

The 11-16 is a favorite here for very good reason, but I decided to go with the Tokina 12-24. Funds were limited, and I wanted a lens that could serve double duty. The 24mm end of the lens makes it more "usable" in a wider variety of situations for me. It can function as a landscape, and a walkaround for me. This lens practically lives on my D7000... Except when my son "borrows" it to use on his D5000. :-)

I have the version without the focus motor... Works great on the D7000, and it doesn't stop my teenager from stealing it for his D5000 to use with manual focus. I bought mine used from B&H.

AMaji wrote:
If you are going to do waterfalls, filters are almost a necessity. As you have a DX camera, my suggestion is to go with the Tokina 11-16/2.8 or the Nikon 12-24/4. There is a Tamron in between that range also. I stay away from Sigma due to my previous bad experience and hence can't recommend it.

Good luck.

I have not had a filter in years and years, and all the photos on my website were taken with no filters. Time of day is the single most important aspect of waterfall shooting..

Hehehehe...funny, I'm looking at your shots and am like HEY that guy is in oregon!!! lol.

I dunno,your pics are great too, but I feel filters are important, or can be important, for waterfall shooting. Granted I feel I'm in a minority and don't use a polarizer hardly at all, but meh. ND filters are useful imho. Could you do without them, sure, but they are handy. Maybe less needed with clever use of your camera's features (you figure it out =p).

That one was with an ND filter...couldn't have gotten that look without it. Then again, sometimes I like to get that look but it does away with too much detail in medium sized falls and some people don't like that (I generally do), so to each their own...your shots are GREAT though, better than mine for sure, so ;-)

For lens choices, for UW on crop:

1. Sigma 8-16mm. You can use big big filters if clever, by the way. I did. ;-) It's going to be the widest, and the sharpest in the corners. If you get a decentered copy, send it back.

2. Tokina 11-16mm 2.8. Mine was nice, sharp, but had extreme flare problems. Has extreme CA, but that can be corrected. It's a very nice lens, but the corners aren't as sharp as the Siggy (don't pay too much attention to tests of the Sigma without using it yourself, it has field curvature). Takes filters (YAY). I used one of these for a long time, too.

3. Sigma 10-20mm (the slower version). I've never used one , but others swear by it.

tmpollard wrote:
@Dustin, I saw your comments about shooting at a certain time of day. What time do you think is best? Where should the sun be located behind, beside, or in front of you? Thanks

I never am out when it is sunny, if I am shooting waterfalls - unless I am wanting a sunstar or what some dramatic light - usually in the morning. Rainy, foggy days work the best for waterfalls. I am lucky in that I live close by to the Columbia River Gorge, which receives 85+ inches of rain a year and conveniently has the highest concentrate of waterfalls on this continent.

Only filters I would ever spend money on are a grad and a polarizer - but that is just me. The next image was shot with film, no filters.